going to the polls. japan's prime minister jets a date for the next elections. >> voters will be starting out the new year with a new government. the ruling party have scheduled an election for december 16.

>> translator: the economy and energy will be part of the focus of the election. our party will make a manifesto and convey our position to voters. i will explain it to the people after i dissolve the lower house on friday. >> the leadup to the decision played out on wednesday. the prime minister said he was ready to dissolve the lower house if the ldp committed to reducing the number of seats in the house by 234ex year. officials campaigning for the general elections starts on may 4. >> translator: lawmakers don't really care, but the people, the

prime minister changes like a resolving door. it's better to give the younger generation a chance another leadership. >> prompted the prime minister to act? making te i . >> there's a big disparity in -- he had fwho executions left. but it took some time

>> the lead-up to the decision played out in the diet. abe pointed out the prime minister promised in august to call a general election soon if the diet passed bills related to social security and tax reform. abe said the ldp kept its part of the deal and helped the bills become law. the liberal democrats also his alovell rating led to a new low. he angered many japanese by deciding to raise the congress assumption tax. japanese people, are frustrated with the government's decision to restart the nuclear reactors after what happened at fukushima daiichi. three years ago the democrats were in on the desire for change. they ended a half century of almost unbroken rule by the

liberal democrats. they promised to cut government spending on such things as public works projects. they promised to reform the pension system and they vowed not to raise the consumption tax until 2013. but they had essentially broken all these promises. >> masao that's quite a list. now with such broken promises, the opposition must have gained more support. >> opinion polls suggest many voters have reconsidered. they have driven up support for the liberal democrats. the party's approval rating is about double the ruling democrats and the ldp can capture the most seats if not win an outright majority.

you know, japanese voters know what they will get after what some people call an experiment with the dpj. and some are also concerned a new political force, the so-called third poll. the former governor of tokyo have founded new parties to try to alter the dynamic of national politics. many voters remember the ldp for wasting taxpayer money and believe the party was controlled by bureaucrats and business interests and saw it as older. as i said, voters have lost confidence in the democrats. so some people may want to take their chances with another option. >> nhk world's masayo nakajima. japanese business leaders commented on prime minister yoshihiko noda's decision to dissolve the lower house. the chairman of japan business federation told reporters that noda made a tough decision aimed at resolving various problems to stop the political confusion. he also urged that the government should ensure measures to boost the economy are implemented, even after the dissolution.

>> translator: it's vital to implement the economic measures that noda asked the relevant government of the offices to compile. >> the chairman of the chamber of commerce said it's regrettable that the move and ensuing general election will create a political vacuum at a time when the situation is severe, but he believes the election is inevitable for the economy to get out of of its prolonged stagnation. >> translator: i believe that seeking a public mandate through an election is inevitable for various economic issues.

these include the free trade deal under the transpacific partnership. china's elite officials are finishing up a high stakes game of political chess, strategizing and making moves that will shape the future of the world's most populous nation and second largest economy. hours from now, members of the communist party will unveil the next generation of leaders that will take control. party officials spent a week holding their national congress, going over issues and policies and revising their constitution and taking on new roles. the meeting wrapped up wednesday. analysts say the back room negotiations are under way to determine who will sit on the commune party's political bureau and its decision making body, the politburo standing committee. nhk world's james tengan is in beijing covering all of this for us. >> people in china and abroad

spent a lot of time speculating about this transition of power. but with just hours to go, few in this country of 1.3 billion know exactly what their leadership will look like when they wake up in the morning. that's being worked out behind closed doors. before those negotiations began, communist party members ended the meeting they hold every five years. about 2300 delegates gathered in the great hall of the people in beijing. the party's outgoing general secretary president hu jintao delivered his closing address. >> translator: all party members should unite under the party character hold high the great banner of socialism. >> president hu has managed to carve out a place alongside the communist party's past leaders. members of the congress agree to incorporate a concept he supports into party policy.

it's known as the scientific outlook on development and advocates growth that takes into account social and environmental needs. delegates also voted to pick the roughly 200 members who will sit on the party's central committee. the committee meets thursday to choose china's next generation of leaders. vice president xi jinping is expected to become the party's general secretary. vice premier li keqiang is also expected to remain in the inner circle. really it's just a waiting game here in beijing. everyone is watching to see how the pieces of chine's leadership puzzle will fall into place and who will secure a spot at the top in the politburo standing committee. the politburo standing committee is the communist party's top leadership. experts say it adopts key policy with a majority vote. right now nine of the party's more than 80 million members are in the bureau.

that means the fate of a country with a population of 1.3 billion is in the hands of a small group of people. here's how the process will unfold. delegates to the national congress will select about 200 members to be on the central committee. those individuals then meet the day after the congress closes. they choose china's new leadership, the members of the politburo standing committee. now within that group, there's a pecking order. president hu jintao currently sits at the top of the politburo. he is general secretary of the communist party and chairs the central military commission which controls the people's liberation army. other politburo members occupy key posts, too, including the premiership. conventionally the congress picks an odd number of politburo members but the actual number varies. in 1982 and 1987 the chang chose seven members.

in 2002 and 2007 it picked nine. the makeup of the politburo directly affects the balance of power within the communist party. that's why intense personnel maneuvers play out ahead of every national congress. analysts will watch for the outcome of that maneuvering. they'll also focus on how many younger leaders will be appointed to key party posts. nhk world's jun payishoka joins us now. what kind of reshuffle do you expect in the top leadership? >> well, first of all the retirement age for the political bureau standing committee is presently 68. but president li jinping and keqiang retain their membership. some of the current nine members have to retire.

it's a major shake-up. arrangements are on the way to reduce the size to speed up the decision making process. they occupy two seats and analysts say top members of maneuvering for the remaining five spots. >> who is likely to get a seat? >> if the predictions are correct, the five new standing committee members will be picked from the lower ranking politburo members. it's highly likely vice premier will get spots. jian has been doubling as the chief of chongqing city since the dismissal of his great predecessor. analysts believe he is close to former chinese president. he is well-versed in finance and his father was also a vice premier. it's safe to say he belongs to the informal network. six other officials are jockeying for the remaining three seats.

they are the party chief of shanghai city, the head of the publicity department, the party chief of tian jan city, the head of the party's organization department, state counselor, who is in charge of education and culture, and the party chief of guangdong province. >> some analysts say it's quite difficult to predict who will join the top leadership because everything is decided in a black box. what do we know about the process? >> well, there is a heated competition taking place between the force and the communists and

the group close to the former premier jiang zemin. this is the word used to describe the party officials. they are not a closely knit faction, but with the help of their parents' personal connections they have a greater chance of taking effective posts in the party and committees. the good example of a princeling is xi jinping whose father served as vice premier. xi is widely expected to assume the party's highest post, general secretary. the communist youth league is positioned as the party's backup force. it marked its 90th anniversary this year. membership in the league is a ticket to joining the party elite. members of 14 to 28 years of age. and as of the end of 2007, there were 75 million of them. analysts say former senior leaders have strong networks in the party. president hu jintao once held the league's top post as the vice premier who is expected to become china's next vice premier. the third group of officials is made up of party members who

have been close to jiang zemin from the time he was party chief of shanghai. we know a lot about the forces at play in china's leadership shuffle. but journalists, diplomats, and experts are all in the dark to some extent when it comes to the negotiating, the deal making and predicting the final outcome. >> another question is how much influence the president will continue to have over the xi jinping administration. what is hu expected to do regarding his post as the head of the central military commission? >> well, it is still unclear whether he will stay in the post or step down and cede power to xi. the head of the central commission controls china's armed forces. so the post is essentially regarded as a supreme leader of the country. even though the party has a general secretary. and there is no retirement age for this post. history suggests hu jintao might stay.

he held onto the position for two years after he stepped down as general secretary to make way for hu jintao. president hu may follow jiang's examples to maintain interest in the party. but some analysts say he might completely retire from politics. all of the questions will be answered soon. we will know who gets what position. however, we may not have the full picture of how the back room deals played out. >> thanks very much. nhk world's beijing correspondent. our coverage of china's transition of power continues thursday. the communist party will unveil the country's next generation of leaders. we will tell you who they are and what it means for the future of the world's second largest economy. stay with us. i'm james tengan in beijing.

. >> reporter: myanmar's opposition leader is visiting india for the first time in 40 years. talks with the indian prime minister who has offered his backing to the democratization process under way in myanmar.

this visit has special significance because india is a neighbor of myanmar and its economy is booming. it's also an emotional return to a country where she lived in the 1960s when her mother was ambassador. the nobel laureate has made several trips to india, europe and the united states. the visit to myanmar in may was the first by an incumbent prime minister of india in 25 years. india has lagged behind china when it comes to forging ties with myanmar, but. afghanistan produces more than 80% of opium circulated around the world but trade in the truck

threatens to destabilize the entire region. politicians from several nations have been meeting in the pakistani capital in islamabad. >> cabinet nebs in 11 nearby countries attended the conference that ended on tuesday. opium used in afghanistan is smuggled into pakistan and several asian nations. the united nations office on drugs and crime says 5,800 tons of opium was made from poppies in afghanistan last year. that's an increase of 60% from the year before. opium is a major source of funding for taliban militants.

it held a ceremonial burning of confiscated drugs to highlight its campaign against the public trade. but opium is a -- crime organizations in pakistan and other countries. pakistani interior minister called on western nations to share responsibility for the drug trade, although most opium consumed in asia is produced in the west. >> i demanded the west to -- the blame is on pakistan, all afghanistan, all the countries here. >> reporter: those who produce opium and transport it and those

who consume it need to work together to end this scourge. >> and that will wrap up our bulletin for today. japanese nuclear experts are trying to figure out if the nation's only operating nuclear plant is vulnerable to earthquakes. the oe plant's operator conducted a survey on a fault beneath the compound. but an official much the nuclear regulation authority has raised doubts about the validity of that study. the nuclear authority asked five expert to examine the fissure earlier this month. a key pipeline that transports cooling water runs across the nearly one kilometer long seam. if the fault is confirmed to be active, the plant could be shut down. but the experts were unable to agree on the findings. the nuclear regulator voiced doubts about kansai electric power company's explanations of

its surveys. he questioned the utility's claims about the length and location of the fissures. he said the regulator's on site inspections need to be more thorough. >> translator: i'm afraid the survey has points that need to be reviewed. one is that we went to the plant without an abator and only able to spend limited time at the site and couldn't analyze the situation in detail. >> the panel is asking kansai electric to conduct further studies. the nuclear regular late -- are going to examine other plants in the same prefecture. nra officials will conduct the survey with four outside experts on december 1 and 2nd. a meeting to discuss the results

of the inspection will be held on december 14. in april, experts found that one of the fissures underneath the plant could be linked to a nearby active fault. they say another fissure below the number two reactor could be an active fault. the nar plans to survey other plants across japan. >> rachel ferguson has the weather. >> yes, we're dealing with a storm moving across japan, i was going to say a snowstorm, mostly rain. we could see three to four millimeters of of snow. the rain is going to continue for the next 24 hours in places along the western coast of the sea of japan side and also up to

the north. very intense rainfall. mudslides and landslides are going to be a concern, as well as flooding, of course. the winds have also been very strong. now that's another 24 hours of this storm before it starts to clear up. friday should be a lot better, in fact, across much of japan. we have more rain developing. you can see even as much as 50 to 100 millimeters of of rain and even further south we head into another bout of every rain. the philippines, actually, getting some heavy rain towards the northeast. you could see anywhere as much as 150 millimeters in the places popping up in the red. that's going to be here in the northern philippines. we're also getting a lot of heavy rain here alone the coast of vietnam. let's take a look at temperatures, 10 degrees in beijing. minus 11 for the high in ulan bator. meanwhile, 15 in tokyo. just around the mid teens in shanghai and chongqing with 24 in hong kong. and we'll see 32 in manila. all right, as we head into the americas, it's going to be very quiet, in fact, for your tuesday.

so good news, after an eventful couple of weeks, especially up in the northeast. what we have now is high pressure dominating the continent. there will be some showers, and they will be heavy at times along with thunder and lightning from florida up to the carolinas. elsewhere, though, really looking very settled, indeed. it will be cooler, though, that cold front has just passed and has left behind some much cooler air. so temperatures on tuesday, nine degrees in new york city, 5 in toronto. with 8 in chicago, and just 10 in d.c. but even these temperatures are going to be rebounding into the weekend. and it will stay dry, as well. so a nice, quiet week warming up as we head into saturday and sunday. all right. into europe, we've been watching this low pressure system over algeria bringing some heavy rain, thunderstorms here. well, it's on the move today, and it's been heading into the mid mediterranean. it's just going to be hanging out for a couple of days. southern italy as well as the southern balkans you're going to be dealing, instead, with those stormy conditions. we're talking about hail,

thunder and lightning. and heavy rain. another system coming in along the med, it's going to be hitting portugal by thursday evening. and then stalling out here, as well, for the next couple of days. so wet weather to continue to the south. then we have high pressure keeping things dry to the center of the continent. up to the north, though, we've got another system. now this one, in fact, a new one coming in from the atlantic across iceland straight in towards norway. toward the north, of course, snow, and then it will be rain and wind for western and southern portions of the scandinavian peninsula. getting a break in the british isles. some good news for you here. just hovering around 10 degree mark in london as well as in paris. 8, in fact on thursday. out towards the east, moscow hitting 4 degrees on thursday. and then down across the south, of course, a little bit warmer 18 in athens as well as madrid. up to 20 in rome. and in lisbon. here now is your extended forecast.

we'll be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani in tokyo.